China boosts mass entrepreneurship and innovation

The State Council issued an opinion to further boost mass entrepreneurship and innovation on June 16.

Forces that have traditionally driven economic growth are weakening, the opinion said, and it is imperative that we intensify structural reform, boost efforts to implement the strategy of pursuing innovation-driven development, and all institutional obstacles should be moved to give way to mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

The opinion laid out specific measures to support mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

* The government is determined to innovate its institutional mechanisms to facilitate mass entrepreneurship and innovation. It aims at creating a better environment for fair competition, deepening business system reforms, strengthening intellectual property protection and establishing a mechanism for the training and hiring of talented professionals.

* Related government bodies are optimizing their financial policies to support mass entrepreneurship and innovation. Strengthened financial support policies, inclusive funding measures and more government purchasing will be seen in the near future.

* Utilize financial markets to facilitate funding and investment. Optimizing the capital market, the government encourages corporations to raise funds through the bond market, and will study practical ways to enable start-up Internet and high-tech companies to enter specialized stock exchanges under the growth enterprise market (GEM) category. Banks are encouraged to cooperate with other financial institutions to offer special support to start-up firms. The government will support the development of Internet finance companies and crowd-funded projects.

* Expand investment to help the development of start-up companies. The government will establish a mechanism to guide investment to entrepreneurs and expand channels for entrepreneurs to raise funds. It will also encourage State-owned enterprises to invest on start-up companies, and boost investment on both domestic and international innovative projects.

* Develop services to help mass entrepreneurship and innovation. Business incubators, third-party professional organizations, Internet Plus services and other newly public services should be prioritized.

* Push forward the establishment of public platforms for mass entrepreneurship and innovation. Public platforms for innovative technologies and regional platforms are highly recommended.

* Inspire people to innovate. The government encourages research staff, college graduates and those who returned from overseas as well as expatriates to start their own businesses in China. College students will be provided with consulting services, professional personnel and financial support when opening businesses. Innovation bases will be built overseas to help put into use the foreign experience of Chinese workers and students.

* Boost entrepreneurship in rural areas to increase employment. The government will support the development of e-commerce in rural areas, and encourage rural residents to open businesses in their hometowns and optimize public services for entrepreneurship in rural areas.

* Related government bodies should strengthen their leadership and coordinate with each other to supervise and implement former mentioned policies and measures.